Little Blogger On The Way
Just wanted to let my Baha'i Thought family out there know that my wife and I have a little blogger on the way. Come October (God willing), we will be first time parents. Hopefully he/she will look more like mom than dad, but I guess we will see. We'll know the sex of the kid in May and so will all of you. In the mean time I'll keep doing what I do, trying the make the world a little better through sharing Baha'i thoughts on the issues of the day. Any sage (or silly) advice for a first time father would be most welcome. Bring on the comments people! Also those who believe in the power of prayer, bring those on too.
"I pray in behalf of these children and beg confirmation and assistance for them from the Kingdom of Abha so that each one may be trained under the shadow of the protection of God, each may become like a lighted candle in the world of humanity, a tender and growing plant in the rose garden of Abha; that these children may be so trained and educated that they shall give life to the world of humanity; that they may receive insight; that they may bestow hearing upon the people of the world; that they may sow the seeds of eternal life and be accepted in the threshold of God; that they may become characterized with such virtues, perfections and qualities that their mothers, fathers and relatives will be thankful to God, well pleased and hopeful. This is my wish and prayer."
(Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 52)
This is my wish and prayer too!
16 comments:
Phillipe,
Congratulations to you both!
Having a child is a scary responsibility. But the motivation that goes with it is maybe the greatest life-changing (natural) force that there is! Nothing taps into one's deepest resources like being their for your kids. Its clear from your enthusiasm that you'll be a great father!
(My own new challenge is learning the art of grandfatherhood.)
Phillipe,
Congratulations,I am so happy for you and your wife! I have to echo John about parenthood--it definitely changed my life is so many ways. It was challenging, exhausting, frustrating, but at the same time, awe-inspiring, rewarding and lots of fun!
My only advice is to finish as many projects that you have going right now, and get A LOT of rest before the baby is born. Both of you will need it!
CONGRATULATIONS!! Phillipe
Congratulations.
Life will never be the same when the little one arrives! I think it gets better.
Paulinemgsmsjmj
we love you both and can't wait to hear the pitter patter of the little copeland baby!
it'll be the best and brightest experience of your life- a reason to smile and laugh every day.
Wuhuuuuu cant wait! Congratulations you two!
Phillipe, Warmest congratulations to you and your wife!
I will definitely remember you in my prayers.
This is probably the time in your life you will be most open to absorbing information and advice about your child's physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual development, so I hope you take advantage, especially studying the Writings together and discussing the implications for the two of you. With your varying cultural background and experience to bring to bear, I can guarantee it will be a very fruitful and unifying undertaking.. I probably don't have to tell you how important the mom's happiness and and feelings of confidence, protection and security mean to the life of your unborn, or of the role you can play in facilitating this, but I just did.
Do I have any (other) advice and tips? Another young couple asked me this recently in my daughter's presence, and she said: "How much time do you have.....?"
Again, heartiest congratulations and love.
Judith W
Congratulations Phillipe. You will make wonderful new parents. I am very happy for you.
Dear Phillipe,
As a long time 'silent' reader of this blog I thought this would be a good opportunity to break that silence and wish you and your wife a warm congratulations, and to thank you for providing us with such interesting and insightful reading for so long. I'm afraid I have asolutely no experience or advice on child rearing to offer, merely the selfish wish that whatever else happens you'll still have reserves of time and energy and wisdom to be able to share with us all through this blog!
Changing the subject entirely, there was a very interesting documentary on the BBC last night about Martin Luther King, the thesis being that his legacy (certainly here in the UK, I wonder how different it is in the USA?)is effectively being secularised and used to support a message of human rights and equality, but detached from its original spiritual context and inspiration, thus losing a real understanding of both Dr King and the potency of religious faith itself. It was made all the more intruiging by the fact that it was presented by a staunch atheist (ex MP Oona King whose uncle knew MLK) who it seemed almost had to talk about religion through gritted teeth! But credit to her for confronting the issue head on. Anyway I thought this may well interest you - it can be viewed at ://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/page/item/b009r1y8.shtml?src=ip_potpw - and I'd be interested in any thoughts you had on the subject.
Congratulations again, and keep up the great work!
Michael
WHOO HOO! Oh yeah! Three cheers for Little Blogger! This is fantastic news and I'm so happy for you.
But you know if it's a girl you have to refer to her as Little Bloggette! And then we can hook up a match with one of my boys! Yeah!
Well, Phillipe, now you will get to know what life is about. My very warmest congratulations to you and your wife. This is the moment when men really grow up - now you are utterly and ineluctably responsible for another human life. It can be scary, the first time around, but by the time you get to three (as my wife and I did) you realize you don't have enough hands!
And now you can look forward to being a grandfather... but not yet!
So much happiness, Phillipe. No advice here -- just lots of good wishes and prayers. Insha'Allah, this new soul will look like both of you. (Two beautiful people.)
Ya Baha'u'l Abha!
Thanks to everyone for your comments, they've made me laugh and smile. Keep it coming.
Congratulations, Phillipe! My prayers are with you, your wife, and your unborn child.
SO HAPPY FOR YOU! seriously. my prayers for your little one, and all that.
this is SUCH JOYFUL NEWS, phillippe! it calls for an overuse of capitals.
much love and happiness,
leila
Such happy news! My warmest wishes to you and Maura in this new chapter in your lives.
One of the great joys in parenting, I think, is discovering the unique nature and gifts that each child brings with him/her. To assist this new being with unfolding those gifts is itself a gift. And however old our children grow, the relationship is an eternal one. A parent is a parent forever; only the details change.
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